Developer: UpperRoom Games Ltd.
Publisher: UpperRoom Games Ltd.
Platform: PC
Tested on: PC
Wavey The Rocket – Review
If you remember your middle school science class, you’ll probably recall that sound is made of waves of different sizes. This isn’t at all vital information you can use in everyday life, but thanks to UpperRoom Games it’s something you can at least apply to video games, in an effort to defeat bosses, topple evil and get some soda, all while playing as a sunglasses-wearing rocket. It doesn’t get any funkier than that.
Story
In terms of plot, Wavey The Rocket delivers exactly what it says on the tin. You play as Wavey, a rocket who lives in what can only be described as a high-tech 90s vaporware hellscape. Things are not as tubular as they seem though, because an evil megacorporation is wreaking havoc on this world’s soda supply, and they also might be planning to destroy the moon. It’s up to Wavey to stop them, with most of the story being delivered through character dialogue you can find in the hub world between levels. Mostly, the plot serves merely as wrapping paper for the actual gift – the gameplay – but it’s at least a pretty amusing wrapping paper on itself, which can get a few laughs with its creative approach to tired clichés.
Graphics
This game definitely looks fine, especially if you’re one to go for retro aesthetics. The 80+ levels are divided into themes, each with their own visual flair to keep things looking fresh, though still tied together through their color scheme. The animation is good in the few cutscenes scattered throughout the game and the levels pop with color. Some might find them a tad too hectic, but overall the unique look works for the kind of game this is.
Sound
Fitting perfectly with the graphics of this game, the music also brings players back to the past with funky hip-hop tracks throughout the different levels. Once again, if 90s hip hop is your style, you’ll probably love this, and even if you don’t, you can probably concede that the soundtrack for Wavey is daring to set itself apart from others, with bass riffs for days and upbeat bops that will make it hard to stay sad for long. The music is accompanied by its fair share of futuristic sound effects and such, to complete the package.
Gameplay
Wavey The Rocket is a precision side-scroller with an interesting set of controls. Similar to most side-scrollers, you will need to move your character up and down the screen to avoid obstacles and collect goodies, but unlike most, Wavey is only able to move in a wave pattern. You can change the shape of the waves, by making them higher and lower as well as further apart or closer together, but the wave pattern remains. This limits your agility and forces you to get creative. The speed at which Wavey travels is also dependent on the size and width of the waves, and you have the option to turn Wavey around and go back a little which can sometimes be used to avoid a collision.
And collision is a certain risk with all the things that litter these levels. You’ll have to become a pro fast at avoiding metal structures, moving beams and even bosses to defeat later on. There are plenty of collectibles scattered around for those brave enough to want to set a high score, but at first, it is more than tricky enough to just move Wavey around properly. There’s also a quick dash maneuver you can use to get out of sticky situations, as it allows you to go straight ahead instead of the usual wave for a short period of time. But you only start with three of these dashes each level, with the option to find more along the way.
All these collectibles do make for a lot of replay value, as you can go back and redo levels once you’ve mastered the controls to try and reach higher scores. This combined with the boss fights and plenty of fun mini-games to partake in, means Wavey delivers a lot more in terms of gameplay than you’d expect. An extremely fast respawn rate upon death keeps things from becoming too tedious and later levels introduce small changes in the mechanics to keep you on your toes.
Conclusion
Wavey The Rocket is surprising in how much content it contains, being the very first game of a new studio. Its uniqueness spells good things for future games to come, and while the designs and steep learning curve might not be everybody’s cup of tea, fun and addictive gameplay might just win some other people over. All in all, while certainly not the most groundbreaking game ever, it manages to provide a few hours of good entertainment, and that’s what video games are all about.
Wavey The Rocket - Review,
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